


A Countenance More in Sorrow

by ArtemisRae



Series: Alphabet Challenge [42]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-09
Updated: 2010-07-09
Packaged: 2017-10-21 15:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRae/pseuds/ArtemisRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He attracts a companion in the spirit world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Countenance More in Sorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a second round of Alphabet Challenge at my LJ, where I was given a prompt for each letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this fic was "journey"

* * *

  
_Journey_  
-noun  
1\. passage or progress from one stage to another  


* * *

The spirit world is quiet in a way that Iroh had never realized was possible, until he experienced it. It is a silence so complete that it becomes a noise of its own, an eerie ringing that he realizes is his ears filling in the empty space that the silence creates.

Early on he is joined by a dragon who curls around him and huffs in irritation: “You are not who I thought you were. What are you doing here?”

Iroh stays calm; he sees himself in the dragon’s eyes. There is that same serene sense of authority, that they are both holding back considerable power and are entirely at ease with their abilities. His own face is reflected back at him, each mirroring determination and longing. “I am on a journey for my son.”

“Not many have the ability to cross into the spirit world,” the dragon observes, twisting and winding around the trees. “And even fewer have the nerve. Many who manage the crossing see things that haunt them, or drive them mad. Will you live through your journey, and accept a lifetime of nightmares?”

Iroh shrugs. “I have already faced my worst nightmare. I am not afraid.”


End file.
